One of the simplest, most enjoyable tasks for beginning and advanced gardeners alike is choosing summer flowers for your summer garden. Every gardener has their favorite summer flowers. If you are looking to discover your favorites, here is a list of favorites that many gardeners recommend and find pleasure in.
Pink Cone Flower – This is a wonderful selection to add to any garden bed, especially one that has full sun. The flower grows up to 3’ tall, so they make a good choice for the back of the flower bed or in the center if the bed is a circular, oval or kidney-shaped. Cone flowers will bloom from mid-summer into the fall.
Shasta Daisy – Like the Pink Cone Flower, the Shasta Daisy is a tall flower that can withstand the full sun and heat of the summer. Blooming time can vary from all summer long to mid-summer through fall.
Brown-Eyed Susan – Not quite as tall as the Cone or Shasta Daisy, this flower is bright to deep orange with a brown center. It also is sun-sturdy, and the blooming time will vary from all summer to mid-summer through fall.
Lily of the Valley – A very fragrant flower that is a great plant for a front border as it only grows to 6”-8” tall. The small white, bell-shaped flowers bloom late spring into early summer, but the green leave and stem remain all summer.
Hostas – Makes for a great border plant and comes in a variety of green shades, and some are even variegated with white. The low, leafy plants come up in the spring and bloom tall stemmed flowers from their centers in mid-summer.
Heirloom Roses – Different from the hybrid roses sold in flower shops, Heirloom Roses are hearty sun-worshipers and come in a multitude of colors and shades. They can grow on trellis’, fences, or in a bush and make incredible summer flowers.
Pansies and Violets – These are great summer flowers for flower beds, and for potted plants to adorn your front porch. These annual flowers will bloom all summer long if well maintained. and will add tons of color to your garden palate.
Butterfly Bushes – Attract butterflies and pollinating bees to your summer garden by adding one of these bushes. They are very fragrant, bloom most of the summer, and can withstand summer heat.
Day Lilies – One of the most popular medium sized summer flowers, and one of the most varying ones. Flower shoots can grow as tall as 4’ and flower color will range form white to orange to red.
Gladiolas – This tall, spear shaped flower loves the sun, and will continue blooming as long as the “spear” continues growing. It’s a great summer flower for adding accents to greenery background.
Ajuga – A low lying ground cover, Ajuga is a good choice for space between flowers and bushes. Mid-summer, it blooms a beautiful small purple flower, and is fragrant.
With all your summer flowers, be sure to “dead head” – pinch off dead blooms – and water on a regular basis, especially for full sun gardens. By choosing the right summer flowers and properly maintaining them, you can enjoy your colorful garden all summer long.
Summer Flowers – It’s All About Planning
Summer is a wonderful time for flowers, yet many gardens start to look bare of color or simply wilt when the summer heat strikes. That’s because gardeners often plant for a spring flush. Those flowers that bloom in spring fade off by summer because the extra heat does not suit them.
Yet there are many beautiful blooms that come into their own with that extra summer heat, so adding these to your planting will keep your garden looking a riot of color throughout summer. Both annuals and perennials bloom beautifully in the summer heat so choose some of each.
Annuals must be planted every year as their name suggests. They are usually only good for one season, so require a bit more work. But occasionally you will get an annual to come up the second year. Sunflowers, cosmos, salvia and marigolds are favorite annuals for summer flowers. Snow in summer; coxcomb and the globe amaranth are three less common flowers that thrive in the heat of summer, while angelonia, perilla and the sun coleus also make good choices.
Perennials are those plants that last for more than one season. Some last for two years, while other types last for several years – or are permanent. If you choose perennials with a long blooming season you will get more enjoyment out of them. Not all perennials are as showy as annuals, but some, like azaleas are a mass of bloom, albeit for a short period of a few weeks.
Longer blooming perennials include Astilbe, purple coneflower, Gaillardia, Rudbeckia and various daylilies – but there are many more. Many times you can cut perennials back after the first bloom and they will bloom again. Tradescantia, perennial geraniums, salvias and veronicas will do this.
If you have a fence or trellis to cover, you could add some of those fantastic flowering vines for lush summer flowers. Black-eyed Susie with its cheerful orange flowers and jet black eyes will brighten up any garden, while the blue/mauve trumpets of the morning glory vine add a lovely blue haze. The night blooming moonflower will fill your garden with a glorious fragrance – there are many more to delight the heart of every gardener.
Bulbs need a whole book to describe their many delights. Dahlias come in all shapes, sizes and colors, from tiny, neat-pedaled balls to huge, shaggy flower heads and everything in between. They are hardy too; so don’t pass up a chance to pop a dahlia tuber into your garden. Cannas, gladiolus and tuberose love sunny spots.
Hans writes about flower gardening tips at http://www.gardening-guides.com he is a enthusiastic gardener and finds most of his inspiration working there Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hans_Dekker
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